DABAWENYOS have expressed varied opinions on the results of the Pahayag End of Year (P-EOY2023) survey, where Vice President and Department of Education Secretary Sara Duterte's trust and approval ratings have dipped from 62 percent to 59 percent.
In the recently concluded survey, Duterte's approval rating showed a decline, particularly in Mindanao, where it dropped from 84 percent to 76 percent.
Trust ratings also decreased from 55 percent to 53 percent in this region.
Contributing to Duterte's decline are various demographic groups, including the 40 to 49-year-olds (68 to 63 percent), 50 to 59-year-olds (56 to 51 percent), and senior citizens (57 to 49 percent).
Lea Regina Dulay, a non-teaching personnel in a Davao-based university, in a Messenger interview with SunStar Davao, on Thursday morning, December 21, 2023, expressed no surprise at the results, highlighting issues like the proposed confidential funds, overpriced laptops, and transparency concerns within DepEd.
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“The confidential funds she proposed (now recently dropped) surely left a lot of doubt to the general public, and that's not the only issue she had to face in her term. DepEd has stacks of issues about corruption — the overpriced laptops, unreturned funds, and the nonexistent budget for special education — these are issues that she needs to resolve in a few years with transparency if she wants to earn everyone's trust back,” Dulay said.
A housewife, wishing to remain anonymous, attributed the decline to the expenditure of the Confidential Fund in just 11 days, raising questions about its usage.
A college student, also preferring anonymity, emphasized that Duterte's accusations of those inquiring about confidential funds as 'terrorists' could have impacted public trust.
“Depende lang man sad na sa iyang agi if makuha pa niya ang loob sa mga tao para mutaas ang iyang ratings, medyo lisod naman gud makuha ang trust nila labi nag kwarta ang istoryahan (It also depends on her actions to gain the support of the people and boost her ratings, especially since building trust can be challenging, especially when finances are in question),” she said.
A 23-year-old minimum wage earner shared that the public's response is understandable given the controversies surrounding the confidential funds, suggesting that Duterte's ratings might improve if positive actions are taken.
Despite Duterte's decline, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.'s approval and trust ratings have recovered from 55 percent to 58 percent. The increase is notable in Special Land (SL), North-Central Luzon (NCL), and Visayas, with support from Middle-Income voters, Catholics, and the self-employed group.
Conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc., the independent P-EOY2023 survey used purposive sampling with 1,500 randomly selected respondents from a Filipino market research panel.
The survey focused on registered Filipino voters kept up to date by PureSpectrum, a global panel marketplace headquartered in the United States. RGP
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